A New Nickname
by Yankee01754
Summary: A follow up to Cooped Up where in Jess has a serious relapse of his cold and bronchitis that becomes dangerously close to pneumonia. Slim needs help. Where will it come from?


A New Nickname

By Yankee 01754

Slim Sherman was awakened in the night by the sound of his partner mumbling in a raspy voice and tossing and turning.

"This isn't good," he said to himself. "I'd hoped getting him into dry clothes with a little whiskey in him and then into bed would ward off any problems."

The day before, Jess' first day out of the house in over two weeks, had not gone well for the young Texan.

He'd had a myriad of problems with their flock of chickens, had his arm raked by a red tailed hawk's talons and gotten locked in the hen house wearing wet clothes. A late spring snowstorm had come up but Jess hadn't taken time to get his jacket - he'd been too intent on getting the chickens under cover. He wanted them in the hen house out of the weather and safe from marauding hawks. On top of everything else he'd been hit on the head by the handle of a heavy garden rake which raised a lump on his right temple.

Slim had found him in the hen house and freed him. Immediately he had gotten him into the house, gotten clean, dry clothes for him and tended to his injured arm. He'd dosed him with a dram of whiskey and put him to bed immediately afterward. He, himself, had spent the next few hours heating soup, making herbal tea - dosing Jess with both - and cleaning up before banking the fires for the night and going to bed himself. Jess had seemed to be sleeping peacefully at the time but now, in the wee hours of the morning, the younger man was running a fever again. He'd just gotten over a very bad cold that had come close to being pneumonia. Slim was afraid they were at that point again.

Quietly, the blond got out of bed and retrieved the water pitcher, basin and a small towel from their wash stand. Placing them on the table between their two beds he wet the towel, wrung it out and then placed it on Jess' forehead. The cool dampness seemed to sooth the younger man for a moment or two but that was it. He went right back to tossing restlessly.

Slim wracked his brain to try and figure out what Jonesy or Daisy would have done. He went into the kitchen and started a fire on the stove so he could heat some water. While he waited he looked through Daisy's herb supply. She had each one labeled with its name and kept a notebook handy which explained which one was good for what ailments and how to use it.

"Bless you, Daisy. This is almost as good as if you were really here," Slim said to himself as he prepared some willow bark tea for his ailing friend.

When the tea was ready Slim went back to the bedroom. A not so peacefully sleeping Jess looked up at him as his partner shook his shoulder.

"Wake up, Jess," the blond rancher said. "I made some willow bark tea for you. We need to knock that fever down before it gets too good a grip on you."

"Aw, Slim," Jess croaked. "Willow bark tea tastes terrible!"

"I know it does but we have to break that fever and the tea is our best chance."

Reluctantly, Jess drank it. Slim took the mug from Jess' hands and made sure the covers were in place properly after laying the cup down. Then he crawled back into bed trying to figure out how he would handle taking care of Jess and tending to the stages and other chores. He finally decided that he'd send a message with the first stage to come through that he needed Ben, or Judd, to help him out.

By the time the sun rose Slim had made two more cups of willow bark tea for Jess and gotten very little sleep. While Jess was sleeping relatively peacefully, he slipped out of the house to feed the chickens and milk the cows, bringing the milk into the house to be strained and set aside to allow the cream to rise. However, when he came into the house he could hear Jess coughing again. When he checked on his friend he found the fever was elevated again. Slim was getting seriously worried now. The willow bark tea wasn't helping and he didn't know what else to do. He was afraid that Jess was developing pneumonia.

It was while he was trying to figure out what to do that he heard a small wagon drive into the yard. It was driven by Tommy Everett - a neighbor's son. His father had borrowed some tools from Slim and Tommy was returning them..

"Tommy! You're an answer to prayer!" Slim exclaimed as the youth secured the brake and attached the hitching weight to the bridle of one of the horses..

"What's the matter Mr. Sherman?" the boy looked at Slim's anxious face.

"Tommy, I need your help " the rancher replied. "Jess has taken sick again and there's nobody on the place but the two of us. I can't take care of him and the chores at the same time. I'm worried that his cold is turning into pneumonia. Could you ride into town and get Doc Collyer for me? Tell him Jess is running a fever again and his cough is back - worse than before."

"Sure can.," the boy replied. "Don't you worry about a thing. I'll go get him right now."

"Take one of our saddle horses," Slim told him. "You can get your team later. You'll make better time that way."

"I'll take Galway if you don't think Mr. Harper would mind," Tommy said. "He's just about the fastest thing on four legs around. I doubt if Drifter would leave. He probably knows something's wrong and he'd just fight me all the way."

"Ok, but be careful - he hasn't been ridden for over a week. He might be difficult to handle."

"Don't worry, Mr. Sherman, Galway and I are pals. Mr. Harper's let me ride him a couple of times."

"And Tommy? While you're in town ask the office to send Ben out here to handle the stages would you?

"Sure thing."

So saying the teen went quickly into the barn, gave the black a quick grooming and saddled him up. With a wave to Slim, who was pumping water for the house, he turned Jess' horse toward Laramie and help.

It took less than the usual two hours for the boy to get to Laramie from the relay station. He pulled up in front of the doctor's office and tied Galway to the hitching rail. He knew the horse was well trained but he didn't know if Jess had him trained in ground hitching yet. Better to be safe than sorry his ma always said.

He ran to the door and went inside.

"Doc? Doc Collyer? Are you here? Doc!"

"I'm right here, boy, stop your yelling." the medical man came out of his kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Sorry, doc," Tommy apologized. "It's an emergency though."

"Somebody hurt at your place? Or sick?"

"No sir, it's Mr. Harper. I went to the relay station to return some tools. Mr. Sherman's really worried. He says Mr. Harper might have pneumonia."

"That's not good," Collyer said. "Jess is just over a bad cold. How did he get so sick?"

"Mr. Sherman didn't say. He just said that Mr. Harper's got a bad cough again and asked me to come and get you. Mrs. Cooper is at a neighbor's and there's nobody else around to help with the chores and tend to Mr. Harper."

"Get my buggy ready, would you Tommy? I'll get my bag and some supplies I might need. I'll meet you out front."

The youth left the house and went directly to the livery stable to get the doctor's rig ready. Fifteen minutes later, just as Doc Collyer left his house, he drove it up in front and jumped out.

"Is that Jess' colt I see? Slim let you take him?"

"Yes sir. He told me to take one of their saddle horses and had no objections to my taking Galway.. Galway hasn't had any exercise for over a week so it was only logical that I give him a good run."

Doc Collyer took up the reins to his buggy horse.

"I'm on my way. Stop by Mort Cory's office, would you, and let him know I've gone out to Slim's place if anybody needs me. I hope I won't be long but, knowing Jess as I do, it's not going to be a laughing matter. Danged fool has more grit than brains!"

With that he clucked to his horse and started the twelve mile drive to the Sherman ranch.

Tom retrieved Galway and walked over to the sheriff's office. Mort Cory was sitting at his desk filling out a report on the latest prisoner he'd apprehended when teenager walked in.

"Hello Tom," Mort said as the boy walked in the door. "Something wrong at your place?"

"No sir, Mr. Cory. It's Mr. Harper. I rode out to the Sherman place to return some tools Pa borrowed. Mr. Sherman's real worried about Mr. Harper. Says he's gotten real sick again. Nobody else is home so he asked me to come in and get Doc Collyer to come out."

That got the sheriff's attention. He cared very much for those two young men - and Daisy and young Mike. He even sort of thought of them as sons - even if Jess _did_ drive him to distraction sometimes with that temper of his.

"How bad off is Jess?" the sheriff was concerned.

"I don't know for sure," young Everett replied, "but Mr. Sherman looked pretty worried."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I doubt it. Doc Collyer asked me to let you know he was going out there in case somebody came looking for him. I'm going to go home and tell my pa I want to go back in case Mr. Sherman needs help."

"You do that, boy, and let me know if there's anything I can do to help out."

"Well, could you let the stage office know so they can send Mr. Cogley or Mr. Patterson out to manage the stages?"

"I'll do that. You get on your way home. The sooner you get permission to go back the sooner you get back there to help."

Cory rose from his desk, grabbed his hat and walked out with Tommy. They parted ways in front of the sheriff's office. Mort headed for the stagecoach company's office and Tommy went home.

"Where have you been, Tom?" Kyle Everett asked his son. "And where's the team?"

"The team is at the Sherman place, Pa," Tommy answered. "I've been in town. Mr. Harper's real sick, Mr. Sherman says. He asked me to ride into town and send Doc Collyer out. He told me to leave the team and take one of their saddle horses. I took Galway, here, because he's not as attached to Mr. Harper yet and he's fast. Drifter would have fought leaving." Tommy grinned, in spite of the news he was imparting. 'You know that horse goes everywhere Mr. Harper goes when he takes him. He'd never leave if he sensed something was wrong."

"What's wrong with Jess?" his father asked.

"I don't know for sure, but Mr. Sherman seemed real worried. He said it's just him and Mr. Harper on the place. That's why he asked me to ride into Laramie. Mrs. Cooper, and Mike, must be away somewhere and none of the stage line employees are working for him this week."

He swung down from the saddle to loosen the cinch and give Galway a breather. They'd ridden into Laramie fast. That was twelve miles. It was another ten, from Laramie to the Rocking Star. Galway had run his heart out the first twelve miles and kept up a good pace between Laramie and the Rocking Star. He deserved a chance to rest for a few minutes, then have some water. A good grooming, some oats and a treat would be his when they got back to the relay station.

"Pa, I was thinking. Mr. Sherman can't handle the stages and the house and taking care of Mr. Harper. Do you suppose I could go back and stay until Mr. Harper's able to work again?" 

Kyle took the reins from his son saying, "I think that's a fine idea. You go up to the house and pack some clothes. Ask your ma for some food to take with you that will fit in a basket. Then you t go back to Slim's place and stay there until Jess is back on his feet able to work again"

"Really? Who will do my work, around here, while I'm gone - it could be a long time."

Everett grinned, ''I'll split your work up between the hands and your brothers. Randy and Brian are old enough to take on a little more responsibility than they have up until now. Slim's a good neighbor. His pa was a good neighbor. It's the least I can do - loaning him one son until Jess is able to work again."

Tom smiled at his father, then bolted for the house. His mother, Cynthia, was kneading bread dough in the kitchen. She called out to him as he passed by.

"Tommy? What's the big hurry." The small, blonde woman wasn't used to this oldest son of hers running in the house.

Tommy went to the kitchen in answer to her summons.

"I'm going to go work for Mr. Sherman for a while, Ma. Mr. Harper's real sick and there's nobody to help with the stages or the ranch work. Pa said for me to have you pack some food in a basket while I get some clothes together. I don't know how long I'll be gone. He's going to split my chores up between some of the hands and Randy and Brian."

"Jess sick? I thought he was over that cold he had."

"All I know is what Mr. Sherman told me, Ma. Mr. Harper's sick, they're alone on the place and he needs some help. I already rode into town to get Doc Collyer to go out there."

"If Slim Sherman is worried, and alone, then you'd better hurry and get your things together," Cynthia told her son. "Make sure you remember to take clean socks. Your laundry is on your bed waiting for you to put it away."

Tommy leaned down to kiss his mother's cheek.

"I'll just be a couple of minutes. I'll pick up the basket on the way out."

"You tell Doc Collyer that I'm ready to help, in Daisy's absence, if he needs it."

"Yes, ma'am." He ran upstairs to get his saddlebags and some clothes. For good measure, he added some paper, pencils and some books for after supper.

Ten minutes later he was downstairs with his saddlebags and his warmest jacket thrown over his arm. His mother was waiting for him. A medium sized basket contained several jars of canned vegetables, a ham, a couple of chickens (along with instructions on how to make some chicken soup to feed to Jess), a couple of loaves of bread and two pies - one apple and one berry.

"Thanks Ma," Tom said as he kissed her good-bye.

Outside he met his father by the watering trough where Galway was drinking his fill now that he was cooled off.

"You tell Slim not to worry about anything," Kyle told his son. "I'll talk to the other neighbors. We'll work out a schedule to patrol the fence lines and shoo his strays back where they belong. No need to worry about the watering holes this early in the Spring. Summer time, if we don't get much rain, will be time enough for that and Jess should be on his feet long before that."

"Does that include Len and Pete Dixson?" the youth asked.

"I'm sure the Dixson boys will be more than happy to help out," his father replied with a grin. "They're reformed characters ever since that phony professor was here. The one that nearly killed Slim by shoving him over the side of that cliff."

After checking to be sure that Galway's cinch was tight, Tommy mounted and turned toward the gate leading into their ranch yard. He had his orders. Slim needed help and he, Tommy Everett, was to pitch in and do whatever Slim needed done to keep things running while Jess recovered from this illness.

It was about eleven when Doc Collyer finally arrived at the relay station. He was greeted by an anxious Slim who had spent the time, since Tommy's departure, sponging Jess and trying to get willow bark tea into him in an effort to relieve the fever.

"All right. Where is he and what's wrong with him?" the medical man asked as he drew up in front of the house and climbed out of his buggy.

"He's in the bedroom. He's awfully sick, Doc. We thought - Daisy and I - that he was recovered enough to be left alone outside for a while. She's at the Norths taking care of Mrs. North. Mike's visiting friends for the week. I had to do some fence repairs, yesterday. Jess was alone for a good part of the day."

Slim went on to explain how Jess had been caught in the snow with no jacket and trapped in the hen house for an undetermined period of time.

"I cleaned up the scratches from the hawk's talons, gave him some whiskey and put him to bed once he was dried off and warmed up some but he's been coughing - real deep in his chest - since about two o'clock this morning."

"Well, let's have a look at him," Collyer said as they entered the house.

Sherman led the way into the bedroom that he and Jess shared. The Texan lay, feverish and wheezing in the bed. Collyer frowned when he saw him.

"When did that cough start?"

"About two o'clock this morning. And the fever, too."

"What have you done for him?"

"I've been giving him willow bark tea for the fever and Daisy left some cough syrup with horehound in it." Slim told him. "Nothing's helping."

As Slim talked, the doctor examined his patient. He didn't like the heat radiating from his body and the cough was extra cause for concern. Somehow that cold had come roaring back and worse than ever.

"First thing we're going to do," Collyer told Slim when he'd heard his story, "is get him out of that mess of a bed and remake it. Put him on yours for now. Then get some clean sheets. I know Daisy's got extras put aside."

Reluctantly, Slim left the room to get some sheets and a fresh blanket. When he returned he helped the doctor get his partner out of bed long enough to strip the bedding and put fresh on. He'd had enough bed making experience, since Jonesy left with Andy that it didn't take him long to remake Jess' bed and get him settled in it.

"Have you got any extra pillows Slim? I'd like to prop him up better. It should help his breathing."

"Yeah. Daisy saves all the feathers from our chickens and the geese we bring down."

Once again Slim went out to the storage cabinet near the front door. This time he retrieved a couple of pillows.

"Good," the doctor said when he returned. "Lift him up while I put these pillows behind him."

Jess was coughing hard and gasping for breath by the time they finished. The doctor frowned and then sent Slim from the room while he examined the young Texan and decided on a treatment. He didn't want the worried young man hanging around while he checked his partner out.

Collyer listened to Jess' heart and to his lungs. He frowned at the sound of the congestion in the young man's chest. He laid a hand on his forehead and found him warm, but not excessively so. Sweat beaded on his forehead every time he coughed.

Thirty minutes later he called Slim back into the room. The tall blond rancher returned with an anxious look on his face.

"How is he?" Slim asked.

"Very bad. He's dangerously close to pneumonia - again. I suspect," Collyer said with a meaningful look at his patient, "that he pulled a fast one on you and Daisy by saying he was better enough to be out of bed."

Slim started guiltily. Hating confinement himself, he had let himself be talked into letting Jess out of bed. Daisy would normally have put a stop to it but a sudden summons to a neighbor's bedside had driven all thoughts of her middle son's nonsense right out of her mind.

Noticing this the doctor said, "I figured as much. He's got only himself to blame for this setback." He scowled at the young Texan. "He's got a very bad case of bronchitis. It's going to take careful nursing, rest and quiet along with a lot of fluids, to get him over this."

"Easier said than done," Slim commented.

"For now keep him propped up and keep giving him willow bark tea for the fever. Encourage him to cough. That congestion gets tight and he's going to have a very hard time. If he can't cough it up on his own apply onion poultices."

"Onion poultices? "

"Yes. Onion poultices, or mustard plasters, are good for this. Haven't you ever seen Daisy or Jonesy make one? Or maybe your mother?"

"I guess so, yeah, but I never paid much attention since they obviously knew what they were doing."

"Daisy probably has a recipe somewhere." He turned toward the doorway when he heard Tommy's footsteps. "Tommy? Have you ever seen your mother make an onion poultice?"

"Yes, sir. She used them last winter when Randy had that bad chill. Cleared it up real good too!"

"Good. You can help Slim make one for Jess if he needs it."

"Sure will. You can count on it." Tommy assured the doctor and the rancher with a reassuring smile.

"How's Tommy going to help? He has to go home. He can't help from their place."

"I'm not going home," the boy told him. "Pa gave me orders to come back here and stay until Mr. Harper's back on his feet again - healthy and able to work."

"I can't take you away from your Pa. He needs you."

"Tell _him_ that," Tommy said with a grin. "I have my orders and our ranch hands and my little brothers have my chores."

"What about your team?"

"Somebody will be by later to pick them up. Really - there's nothing to worry about. I'm here for as long as you need me. He told me to tell you that the neighbors will pitch in and patrol your fence line - and that includes Len and Pete Dixson."

Slim had to smile a little at that. Not so very long ago the Dixson brothers had been his biggest headache. That had changed when Morgan Bennett had tricked Slim into helping him find the stolen loot he'd buried in the area. The Dixsons had been so upset over Slim's apparent demise, when Morgan pushed him over the side of a cliff, that they'd sought revenge and Pete had gotten off the shot that ended Morgan's outlaw career - and life. Now they worked hard to be as responsible as Slim and Jess.

"Now that that's settled," the doctor said, "I'll be on my way."

Doc Collyer packed his bag and headed toward the door with a final few words of instruction and warning.

"Make sure you keep him warm, Keep pouring willow bark tea into him no matter how much he protests - and I know he will - it'll help keep that fever at bay. Onion poultices if his breathing gets worse without him getting rid of that congestion." He climbed into his buggy as Tommy took the hitching weight off. "Send Tommy or Ben for me if he gets much worse and nothing seems to be helping."

After Collyer was gone the teenager turned to his temporary "employer".

"What do you want me to do first, Mr. Sherman? Chop some wood? Clean the barn?"

"Yeah, I guess." Slim was distracted with worry over Jess.

Tommy smiled at his friend encouragingly.

"Don't worry, Mr. Sherman. We'll get him through this."

With that the boy headed for the barn to clean out the stalls and put new bedding in place. When that was done he got the fresh team ready to be hitched. By the time he finished that the noon stage had arrived. Ben Patterson, a long time employee of the stage line who often worked at Slim's place, was on it. He and Tommy worked quickly to swap the teams out.

When that was done Tommy headed for the chopping block to cut some firewood and gather kindling. He filled a box with wood chips and small twigs and took it into the house. He found Slim in the kitchen trying, unsuccessfully, to start a fire in the stove so he could make coffee.

"Let me do that, Mr. Sherman," the teenager said. "You're just killing the fire before you even get it started."

"Thanks, Tommy. I just can't seem to do anything right."

The boy smiled sympathetically.

"That's because you're too tired and worried about Mr. Harper." Tommy adjusted the fuel in the stove and lit a match which he touched to the wood chips. They caught quickly and the teenager soon had a decent fire started.

"Why don't you go sit with Mr. Harper while I get lunch ready? Ma sent a basket full of stuff. I'll throw something together for us and then, if you like, I'll do the laundry so we'll have clean sheets if we need them."

With a tired smile of his own Slim went back to the bedroom to sit with his stricken partner. Meanwhile Tommy got a stew started for supper, put lunch together for the three of them, coffee on as well as hot water to make more willow bark tea. Cynthia Everett was making sure that none of her children would ever be helpless in the kitchen and Tommy was her star pupil when it came to cooking and baking. He was turning out to be a good hand at nursing care as well. His brothers and sisters weren't as patient and careful as their older brother.

Late that afternoon the last stage out of Cheyenne for the day rolled into the yard while Tommy was hanging the laundry .Veteran driver, and good friend of the folks at the Sherman Relay Station, Mose Snell was driving.

"Hiya Mose!" the teen greeted him. "I haven't seen you for a while."

"Tommy Everett! What are you doing here young fella? Not enough work for you at your own place?" Mose laughed.

"Nothing like that," the teen replied. "I came to return the tools that Pa borrowed a few weeks ago. When I got here Mr. Sherman was almost in a panic. Mr. Harper's sick

"I heard that, at the office in Cheyenne," the veteran driver said. "Didn't know you was out here. They said to tell Slim not to worry about refreshments and such, for the passengers, until Jess is back on his feet. They sent an official notice to all offices and orders for Ben to stay until he's no longer needed. They'll tell him what they want him to do when he's through here."

Working together they had the team swapped out in a matter of ten minutes. Mose climbed up on the box, picked up the lines and gave the team the go ahead. The coach ground the snow into the dirt and left a muddy trail. The temperature had gone up considerably since the night before and melting snow was creating a quagmire. Seeing this the teen shook his head. There wasn't anything that could be done about it.

He went into the house with the letter Mose had given him for Slim and an armload of wood to fill the box by the fireplace. He could hear Jess coughing from the kitchen when he stopped to check on the stew he had cooking.

"Is he all right?" the youth asked Slim.

"No. He's having trouble breathing."

"You know, my ma would try steam with eucalyptus to try and clear that congestion."

"She would? Not an onion poultice?" Slim's eyes were red rimmed from being up half the night and his face showed signs of lack of sleep.

"She'd use an onion poultice if the eucalyptus didn't work."

"Can we try that?"

"I'll see if Mrs. Cooper has any in the kitchen," the teen told him. "It might help a little. Sure would be nice," he said with a grin, "if we didn't have to stink up the whole house with the onions."

"It sure would," Slim agreed.

"Ok. I'll see what I can find."

It didn't take him long to find a jar labeled eucalyptus and get a kettle of water boiling. He considered the eucalyptus and thought about how much his mother would have put in. His memory was a little hazy but he finally worked out that a large spoonful, dropped in the boiling water would do it. He took the kettle, a spoon, a bowl and a towel and headed for the bedroom. He put the bowl down on the dresser and walked around to Jess' bed.

Jess was awake and propped up on the pillows.

"Hi Mr. Harper. I'm sure sorry you're not feeling well."

"Hi Tommy. What brings you here?" the patient asked.

"I'm taking your place until you're well and back on your feet. I'm also Mr. Sherman's assistant nurse. Doc Collyer says we need to get that congestion out of your lungs so we're gonna try eucalyptus steam like my ma would do."

He handed Jess the towel and grabbed a pillow from Slim's bed for the invalid's lap. Then he poured the boiling water into the empty bowl.

"Put the bowl on the pillow and drape the towel over your shoulders for a minute. I'm going to put some eucalyptus in the water. When I do that I want you to put the towel over you head and the bowl and breathe in the steam.." As Jess complied he added, "It'll make you cough but it'll be worth it if it breaks up that mess in your chest."

It didn't take long for the steam to gather and Jess to start coughing. It seemed to help some but the patient just looked wrung out, and exhausted, without much result as to clearing his chest.

"We can try it again later," Tommy said. "From the looks of you, Mr. Harper, I think you need to rest a little while before supper."

It was a quiet group that sat down to Tommy's supper that night. Hot chicken stew with fresh biscuits and a berry pie that Mrs. Everett had sent along. All three men were tired. Slim had been up half the night with Jess and tried to take care of some of the chores while his friend was sleeping. Tommy had been up at dawn to do his own chores and then driven to the relay station to return the tools. Then he had taken Galway and ridden into town to get the doctor then he'd chopped wood and cleaned the barn. He'd taken on the task of tending to Mike's menagerie as well. One squirrel named Chip, one fawn named Twink, Buttons the dog, one cat, one raccoon that Andy had left behind. Ben had tended to the stage teams and fed and watered all the livestock. Before he went to bed he would make sure that the chickens were safely shut in their hen house to be released in the morning.

It was another sleepless night for Slim. He'd told Tommy to bunk in Mike's room and he went back to his own room but not once, all night, did he strip to his underwear and socks and crawl into his bed. He had followed Tommy's example in giving Jess another steam treatment, given him more willow bark tea and sat up with him all night.

The teen kept the door to Mike's room open all night and got up to see if he could help but Slim just sent him back to bed telling him he'd take care of Jess since he wasn't a bit sleepy. He wasn't about to admit that he was dog tired. He refused to take any kind of advantage of the boy.

At the breakfast table, Slim barely touched his flapjacks and bacon. He drank three cups of coffee in order to try and get the fog out of his brain. He scarcely heard Ben as the older man mentioned the problem with the door to the hen house.

"You need to do something about the latch on the hen house, Slim," Ben told him. "I nearly got locked in there this morning when I went to gather the eggs for Tommy."

"Hmm? Yeah. I'll take care of it." Slim mumbled his response.

Ben and Tommy exchanged looks. Slim wasn't functioning normally at all but what could they do about it?

After breakfast Tommy and Ben did the dishes and Tommy fixed up some more willow bark tea for Jess whose fever was still higher than it should be. He handed the mug to Slim who helped Jess hold the mug and drink it. Not that Jess was willing to drink any more of it but he was in no condition to fight Tommy - let alone his surrogate brother.

Tommy and Ben spent the day working together to tend to the stages and the chores around the barn. The teenager offered to get lunch while Ben said he'd take care of supper. The youth also tackled the turning over of the soil for Daisy's vegetable garden. If there was one thing the Everett kids were not it was lazy. Tommy found numerous ways to keep himself busy while trying to keep an eye on Slim encouraging the stubborn older man to rest and checking on Jess' condition to see if the onion poultice would be necessary.

That night was a repeat of the previous one as was the one that followed. Everyone would retire but Slim would be awake all night, or cat napping in a chair next to Jess' bed. Sherman would go to the kitchen and make the willow bark tea or get boiling water and eucalyptus to give his friend another steam treatment. He scarcely closed his eyes all night and wouldn't let Tommy help. He told the boy that he needed to sleep while he, Slim,wasn't the least bit tired.

Around eight o'clock the next morning Sheriff Mort Cory put his deputy, Cal Peterson, in charge of the office - and the town - and mounted his horse. His destination was the Sherman ranch and relay station. He'd seen Doc Collyer, briefly, the day the doctor had been called to the ranch but had heard nothing since. He was concerned about how Jess was doing and how Slim was holding up with his best friend/parter/little brother - for such he thought of them - sick in bed. He knew Tommy Everett to be a willing, and capable helper, but the boy was only nineteen. There was a lot of work around the house, barn, corrals and garden let alone checking on the cattle and such. Mort felt a need to check on things and see if any more help was needed.

Ben was trying to get a team swapped out on the mid-morning stage. Tommy was chopping wood and Slim was nowhere to be found at first. One of the team was acting up and Ben, experienced hand though he was, was having difficulty getting it under control.

Normally Jess would have lent a hand. The Texan had a way with animals - especially horses. He was nowhere in sight and that caused the good sheriff some concern. He was even more concerned when he saw Slim's face as the tall rancher came out of the house to lend a hand. Tommy, having left his wood chopping, was there just ahead of Slim.

"Here, now," Tommy said to the horse as he got hold of its bridle. "Settle down. You'll be disturbing Mr. Harper with all this fussing."

"What's the problem here?" Slim asked in a sharper tone than he normally would have. "That horse is going to wake Jess!"

"Sorry, boss," Ben said. "Old Goldie, here, is in a bad mood. She don't want ti cooperate."

"Tommy, take her into the barn and bring out a substitute! We'll deal with Goldie later!"

"Yes, sir." The youth took the recalcitrant horse as he was told and brought out a replacement. Together, he and Ben finally got the stage ready to go They waved as the driver snapped the reins.

"I'll take care of the team, Tommy," Ben told his temporary partner. "You can get back to your wood chopping."

The youth nodded and started back to the wood pile spotting Sheriff Cory as he did.

"Hi Mr. Cory!" he greeted Mort enthusiastically.

"Tommy." Mort nodded his greeting. "How's Jess doing?" the older man asked.

"Not so good," the teenager told him. "We've managed to get him to cough up some of that congestion by having him breathe in eucalyptus steam but it's not enough. He's still feverish and coughing."

"Hmm. How's Slim holding up?"

"He's not good either. If my ma were here she'd blast his eardrums! He insists on doing all of the nursing all by himself except that I set up the first steam treatment. Every night I sleep with the door to Mike's room open so I can hear him if he needs me. I hear Mr. Harper coughing. I hear Mr. Sherman as he goes to the kitchen to get willow bark tea or more hot water and eucalyptus but when I offer to help he refuses. He says I need my sleep more than he does." Tommy let out an exasperated - and worried - sigh. "He hasn't slept the whole time I've been here except for short naps in the chair by Mr. Harper's bed. I'm worried about him. He's going to get sick himself if he doesn't let me help more."

Mort reached out and patted the boy on the shoulder.

"I'll have a talk with him." The older man was concerned about both of his part time deputies. They were good friends - even if Jess was "as stubborn and ornery as they get" and Slim was almost as bad as far as being stubborn was concerned. He loved both young men like they were his own. He'd known Slim for years and had grown to be quite fond of the hot headed young Texan who was Slim Sherman's brother, best friend and partner all rolled into one. He couldn't think of one them without the other coming to mind at the same time. "Go on back to your work."

Tommy gave the sheriff a thankful look and headed for the barn to see if Ben needed any help with Goldie. Then he went back to the woodpile. It was still quite cool at night. They needed wood for the fireplace as well as the stove.

Mort headed to the house and immediately went to the bedroom where he knew he'd find Slim. That was okay for now. He wanted to see how Jess was doing anyway. As expected Slim had gone straight back to his partner's side and was laying a cool, damp cloth on the Texan's forehead.

"How's he doing?"

Slim jumped. He hadn't heard Mort come in and hadn't seen him in the yard either. This, Mort knew, was not a good sign. Slim was too focused on Jess and not on anything else.

"Mort! When did you get here?"

"I've been here for fifteen minutes," the lawman told him. "Long enough to see a teenager and an old man trying to change a team and replace a mettlesome member of said team. Long enough to hear you bawl out the boy who was doing his best!" Mort frowned at his young friend. "That's not like you."

"Jess is sick. He needs things quiet," Slim retorted.

"Be that as it may, young man, you had no call to speak to the boy that way." He studied Slim's face taking note of the dark circles under his eyes and the fatigue that was carving deep lines into his face. Reaching over he took the cloth away from Slim and returned it to the basin. Then he took him by the arm.

"Come one. You need a break and I could use some coffee."

The two men made their way to the kitchen where they grabbed cups, saucers and the coffeepot. When Slim went back to the kitchen for the milk he found two identical jars on the side of the sink. If he had been more alert, and his head a lot less muzzy he would have noticed the slight difference in color and would have taken the lid off to sniff the contents.

He was not alert. He'd had little sleep for at least three days. It could have been a disaster.

"Here you go, Mort," Slim said as he handed his friend one of the jars. "We haven't refilled the cream pitcher lately. Tommy doesn't care much for coffee and Ben drinks his black. Jess hasn't had coffee for days and I don't usually put cream in mine."

The Laramie sheriff poured coffee into their cups and then took the jar from Slim pouring a small amount into his cup. It was when he removed the spoon and saw the damage, that he knew something was wrong.

"What in blazes...?"

Quickly he brought his coffee up to his face and sniffed it. Something wasn't right but he couldn't tell for sure what - the smell of coffee was too strong. He then reached for the jar that Slim had brought in from the kitchen and smelled it. There was a strong alkali smell to it.

Slim had decided to add a little cream to his coffee - a rare thing - and was reaching for the jar. Mort's quick thinking, and action, saved them.

"Don't!" Mort yelled. "That's not cream - that's lye!"

"Lye?" Slim didn't understand.

"Yes, lye! Daisy once told me that it's safer to keep lye in a jar than a can because it will eat right through the can. You picked up a jar full of lye boy!"

He showed the damaged spoon to Slim whose eyes went wide with horror. Mort could have been badly hurt by that stuff.

"I'm sorry Mort. There were two jars next to the sink. I just grabbed one."

"You see there? That just proves what Tommy told me. You're not thinking straight because you haven't been sleeping. If you were more alert you never would have made that mistake."

Mort looked at his young friend in concern.

"Look at you. Your clothes look like you've been sleeping in them but the shadows under your eyes tell me you haven't been sleeping. And you haven't been eating much, either, from what I've been told."

"I've been taking care of Jess. I can't leave him alone. He needs me."

"He needs you healthy and alert which you aren't. I don't need your helpers to tell me that." He got up from the table and took Slim by the arm. "Couch or bed. Your choice, but you are going to get some rest." 

Slim sighed as Mort Cory took him by the arm and led him over to the sofa under the window by the door. He didn't want to sleep. He couldn't sleep while Jess was lying in bed alternating between sleep and a wheezing cough.

There sheriff made the younger man lie down and retrieved a pillow, and a blanket, from the cabinet. He'd been in that house enough to know where things were kept..

"Settle back and close your eyes," Mort told Slim. "You're going to take a nice long nap." 

Despite Slim's protests Cory persisted and it didn't take long for the aquamarine eyes to close and his breathing settle into a steady rhythm in sleep.

When Tommy came in, bearing a load of firewood for the fireplace he was pleased to see his friend getting some much needed rest.

"How'd you manage that?" the youth asked. "Did you threaten to lock him up if he didn't try to get some sleep? Slip some laudanum into his coffee?"

"You've got a smart mouth, young fella. Show a little respect for your elders or I'll remember that the next time you, and Dan, are fooling around in town," Mort told him with a twinkle in his eye.

"Not that! Please! Not that! My Pa would kill me!" Tommy joked.

Mort laughed quietly. He knew that Tommy and his best friend, Dan Fulton, weren't trouble makers but he couldn't resist the urge to give the boy a bit of a ribbing.

"He should sleep for at least a couple of hours. I'm gonna look in on Jess and then I have to get back to town. You be sure and send Ben in for Doc Collyer if you need him.

"Yes sir. I sure will," Tommy promised. "I want to have a look at Mr. Harper myself. If he's resting I don't want to disturb him but he could probably stand some more willow tea." The youth frowned. "I've been using eucalyptus and steam but I'm afraid we're going to wind up using an onion poultice. I have to show Mr. Sherman how to make it but it's going to take at least two of us to put it to use. If he starts coughing that junk up out of his chest he'll need Mr. Sherman to support him and someone to hold the basin while he gets sick. It sounds horrible but I remember Ma saying, when Randy was sick last winter, that it's the best thing. The eucalyptus just isn't working as well as we'd hoped."

"You're doing fine, Tommy. I'm sure Jess appreciates everything you've done and he'll tell you so when he's feeling better." The sheriff put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "And Slim owes you an apology which you'll get once it sinks in that he was out of line a little while ago." He pushed the youth toward the bedroom. "Now let's go see your patient."

The patient was dozing but not sound asleep when Tommy and Mort walked into the room. He opened his eyes and gave them a pale version of his normally sunny grin.

"Jess. How are you feeling?"

"Like I was rode hard and put up wet," the sick man told his friend.

"Sheriff? Can you help Mr. Harper out of bed and into that chair for a couple of minutes?: Tommy asked as he grabbed an armful of clean bedding that he'd washed the day before. "I want to remake his bed with clean sheets while he's awake."

"Sure can," Mort Cory replied.

He swung the covers back from his young friend and assisted him in getting up. The effort caused a brief coughing spell that did nothing to relieve the congestion.

"Here you go, Jess."

Mort helped Jess up and over to the chair which Tommy had moved to the other side of the room so he could change the bedding without interference. It only took him a few minutes. When he was done he and the sheriff helped the invalid back into bed.

Jess was wheezing badly when they got him settled again. Tommy took advantage of Mort's presence to quickly, and quietly - so as not to disturb Slim - got some more boiling water and eucalyptus. The treatment did little good and the teenager sensed that the onion poultice might very well become a reality in the not so distant future.

Mort left shortly thereafter, leaving with Tommy orders for Slim to go to bed and let the others tend to Jess that were there to help. He wouldn't do Jess any good if he collapsed from exhaustion.

The three healthy men ate a hearty meal of steak and fried potatoes with corn and fresh biscuits. Dessert was the apple pie that Cynthia Everett had sent by messenger that morning. Once the dishes were done Slim tried to concentrate on the book he had started before Jess became ill.

"It's no use. I just can't concentrate," he said to no one in particular. "I think I'll just go to bed."

He headed for the bedroom with heavy steps. Before stripping down to his long johns he leaned over his friend and placed a large, but gentle, hand on his forehead. Jess' fever wasn't too bad but it made him cringe to listen to him wheezing every time he took a breath. He could swear that Jess looked thinner than he should be. Maybe even a little thinner than when he first arrived at the ranch and that was saying something as he'd been very slender - maybe even half starved at that time.

"We're gonna get you through this Jess. I promise."

Tommy and Ben turned in soon after. Between the physical labor, for Tommy and Ben, and the emotional worry for all of them, they were ready for bed quite soon after dinner.

Tommy could never explain it later, but he just couldn't get to sleep that night. He ought to have been asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow but he wasn't. He tossed and turned numerous times trying to find a position that would lend itself to sleep. It didn't come so he grabbed his pants, donned the moccasins he used for slippers, and padded out to sit by the fireplace. He could hear Slim also tossing and turning and Jess coughing.

If Tommy felt restless that night, Slim was even more so. Every breath Jess took ended in a wheezing gasp. The older man cringed every time he heard it and,on the rare moments when he fell asleep he'd wake up with a start when Jess coughed or moaned. After about fifteen minutes he realized that Jess' coughing had turned to wheezing. He was having a hard time getting his breath.

"Tommy!" Slim called.

The teenager was on his feet in a flash and in the bedroom just as Slim was raising Jess and placing more pillows behind him, including the one from his own bed.

"He's worse, Tommy," the rancher said.

"I heard him from the other room," the boy said. "No fooling around with eucalyptus and steam now. He needs that onion poultice we talked about!" He pulled Slim by the arm and said, "You rouse Ben. I'll get a fire going in the stove. It's going to take all three of us to get this done. We've got to peel, chop and cook onions. I'll get started. Once you've roused Ben gather up some small towels. We'll need them to apply the poultice without burning him."

Slim didn't argue. Doc Collyer had told him that Tommy knew what to do. Jess was desperately ill and Slim would move heaven and earth - and take orders from anyone - even a teenager - - if they knew how to help him. That was the most important thing - helping Jess.

It didn't take the youth long to build up the fire in the stove. Once that was done he put one of Daisy's largest skillets on the stove to heat up. Then he proceeded to pile onions on the table and started peeling them.

"What do you need us to do?" Slim asked a couple of minutes later as he and Ben came into the kitchen.

"Start peeling. Ben, you chop 'em. I'll start frying." Tommy issued his orders.

They got right to work. Tommy put a good sized spoonful or lard into the frying pan and added the onions as soon as Ben had them chopped. All three had to wipe their eyes periodically as the fumes made them sting. He showed Slim how to stir them so that the onions were sautéed properly and ready to be used. It didn't take long for the kitchen, and the main room, to smell strongly of frying onions. Ten minutes passed, ten long agonizing minutes of hearing Jess struggle to breathe, before Tommy pronounced the onions ready to use.

"Have we got enough onions?" Slim asked anxiously.

'I think so," Tommy told him. "We don't need a huge number. We just need enough to fry up and put in the towel."

"Got a towel ready?" the teen asked Ben.

"Yep." the old timer handed it to Tommy.

"Lay it out on the table, please. We have to spoon the onions onto the center, leaving enough towel to fold over on the sides and the bottom.

Ben quickly laid the towel out ready for the onions. Slim carried the pan of onions and Tommy spooned them out onto the towel. When he was satisfied that there were enough he showed the other two how to fold the towel over them. Long side first, then the ends folded over.

"All right, it's ready. Let's take it to our patient now!"

They headed into the bedroom with Tommy in the lead. Slim was right behind him and Ben brought up the rear.

"Jess, Tommy's fixed an onion poultice.."

" _We_ fixed an onion poultice," the teen stated firmly.

Slim didn't think he'd had all that much to do with it but he appreciated the teenager sharing the credit. What was important was that it worked. He couldn't take much more of Jess being this sick. It wasn't normal for his pard to be in bed and sounding like a leaky bellows when he breathed.

"We're gonna put it on your chest. Mrs. Everett, and Doc Collyer, swear by them. It'll help break up that congestion in your chest."

He took the poultice from Tommy who instructed him to place it on Jess' chest.

"Ma would keep it on his chest for twenty minutes. You two apply that poutice and I'll go start another one."

After ten minutes Jess began to cough some. It sounded more productive than the previous coughing spells. While the worried Slim supported him, and patted him on the back some, Ben held the basin for Jess to spit into.

"Here, give me the old one and put this one on him," the youth said. "Some folks would wait until the next day but we've waited almost too long. I'm going to fix one to put against his feet, too. Ma did it with Randy last winter. Between the two of them they broke up that pneumonia real quick."

They swapped out the first poultice for a fresh one. After doing this three times, the congestion finally started breaking up good. Jess coughed continuously as Slim supported him and held the poultice in place as Ben held the basin. It wasn't as much as it should have been, not the first time, or even the second, but it was working better than the eucalyptus steam had done. After three poultices Jess was exhausted.

Tommy, acting on experience and remembering Doc Collyer's orders to his mother, suggested they let Jess rest for a while.

"It's starting to work," the teen said, "but he's exhausted. We should let him rest for a while and then start over again. Give him this willow tea and then he can rest for a while. I think his fever is almost gone now that he's clearing that junk out of his chest."

Slim drew the covers up and gently covered his partner before acquiescing to the suggestion. The sun was just starting to come up. It was quite cool in the main room so Ben started a fire and Tommy started breakfast. Slim was told to sit down in one of the chairs or stretch out on the couch while they got breakfast, gathered the eggs and fed the stock. There would be time enough after breakfast to quickly ready the relay teams and tie them to the corral fence. Whoever was driving would know that Jess was very ill and Slim was busy taking care of him - with some very competent help.

They let Jess sleep for four hours before starting on the onion poultices again. Each application relieved the congestion a bit more and he slowly ceased to wheeze with each breath. By the time they were through all three caregivers were as worn out as the patient. Supper that night consisted of warmed up stew and bread and butter with baked apples topped by cream - real cream - for dessert. Tommy and Ben did the dishes when they were through.

Slim slipped into the bedroom to check on Jess while they were busy. He knew they'd worry if they found him hovering again but he had to see for himself how his partner was doing.

"Slim?"

"I'm here Jess. Where else would I be?"

"Eating supper? Reading by the fire?" Jess grinned.

"If Tommy had his way - or maybe I should say if Mort had his way - I'd be sleeping instead of taking care of you."

"You need to sleep too."

The effort to talk tired Jess out. His eyelids slid shut and he dozed off. He was still wheezing but not nearly as badly as he had been.

"When he wakes up again," Tommy said from the doorway, "we'll give him some beef broth and willow tea." The teenager leaned over to listen to Jess' breathing and felt of his forehead for fever. "I think he's turned the corner but we'll apply a few more onion poultices to make sure we got all that congestion out of him. His fever's way down."

Two days later Jess' fever broke for good and he coughed up the last of the congestion. Feeling much better, though tired, he fought against the invalid's diet that Doc Collyer had imposed upon him.

"Soup, broth, eggs and milk for the next week," Collyer instructed the "nurses" as he put his stethoscope away and closed up his bag. "Light food only for now. I'll come by at the end of the week and see how he's progressing. Then we'll see about his eating what he calls 'real' food again."

Tommy and Slim grinned at each other and their patient. They were going to work together to see that Jess followed orders as far as his diet was concerned. It was a challenge they looked forward to now that their worries about Jess' health were over.

"He can sit outside, on the porch, an hour or so a day," the medical man continued. Probably best if it's after lunch when it's fairly warm outside. But make sure he's got a jacket on and a blanket over his legs. I don't want him getting chilled." He gave the nurses a stern look, "Don't let him talk you into letting him stay out any longer than that. He can sit by the fire or he can nap in his bed but no more than an hour or two outside until I say otherwise."

Slim followed Collyer out to his buggy while Tommy went to the kitchen to fix lunch for them.

"By the way, Slim," the doctor said, "Daisy will be back tomorrow or the next day. Sarah North finally had her baby last night. Daisy's going to stay just long enough to get everyone settled again and fix some meals ahead to make things easier for the family. It was a difficult birth and Sarah won't be up and around right away like she always has been before."

"What did they have this time?" the rancher asked.

"Another boy. That's three boys and three girls now. Mother and baby are fine but Sarah - and her nurse - are a bit worn out."

He climbed into his buggy as Slim put the hitching weight into the front under the seat. Picking up the reins he told his horse to move along waving to Slim as he did.

"No! You may _not_ stay out here another hour! Doc said no more than two hours a day for now."

"Aw Slim! I'm tired of being inside all day."

It was two days later and the rebellious patient was already feeling his oats and wanting to do more than he should - even if it was staying outside "where I can breathe" longer than he was supposed to.

"It's only been two days since the doc was here to look you over. Until he comes back and says you can stay out longer you _will_ abide by his orders!" Slim was exasperated. "I'm not going to take any chances on you getting sick again. I let you out, and left you on your own, too soon the last time. This time it's going to be different!"

The argument raged back and forth for ten minutes much to the amusement of Tommy and Ben who stayed safely out of reach of anything Jess might throw.

"Any bets on who's going to win the argument?" Ben asked.

"Nope. No contest. Mr. Sherman's bigger and in better shape right now. Mr. Harper doesn't stand a chance," the teen grinned.

The two of them were working outside the barn. Ben had gotten trapped in the hen house that morning. He hadn't been trapped for long but he was very vocal about it. He and Tommy were making a new door and putting a hook and eye on it in place of the wooden block that had trapped two people in two weeks.

Now they took the door, new hinges and the two pieces of the lock to the chicken coop and installed them, carefully avoiding any involvement in their employers' argument. Slim was ready to pick Jess up bodily and put him inside. Jess took a look at the determined expression on his partner's face and decided it was best to give in. Reluctantly, he got up from his chair and went inside. He did not, however, head for his bunk. He settled himself in the rocking chair that everyone considered to be his. Slim fussed over him for a minute, ensuring that the blanket was covering him well with another one wrapped around him in place of the jacket he'd had on before adding another log to the fire and going back outside to start getting the team ready for the next stage that was due in.

It was nearing dinner time by the time Daisy drove into the yard two days later. She was happy to be home as was Mike whom she had picked up at the neighbors' on her way back from the Norths'. The Duggan family was sorry to see the youngster go but knew he would be missing his guardians at this point.

Slim came out of the kitchen when he heard the team stop in front of the house.

"Welcome home, Daisy! Mike!"

"Thank you dear," Daisy replied as he helped her down from the buckboard.

"Hey Tiger," he greeted Mike as he reached up to "unload" him from the buckboard. It was a joke, between Mike and his guardians that they loaded him like a sack of potatoes. Mostly Jess used the expression but Slim chose to use it this time.

"Hi Slim!" Mike hugged his big brother hard. He'd had fun at the neighbors' but he was happy to be home. He'd missed Slim and Jess and Daisy.

"Did you have fun at the Duggans, Tiger?" Slim asked his ward.

"Sure did. We rode and played tag and hide and seek and catch and checkers and all kinds of things! Mrs. Duggan cooks almost as good as Aunt Daisy!"

Slim put the boy down and leaned over to kiss Daisy's cheek.

"We missed you. You were needed where you were but we needed you here, too." Cautiously he formed the words to let her know about Jess.

Before he could say anything Daisy asked, "Where's Jess? Doesn't he know we're back?"

"He's inside, Daisy. Probably sleeping."

"Sleeping? Jess? At this hour?" the elderly woman was surprised.

"He's been sick, Daisy. Very sick. Doc said it was a bad case of bronchitis bordering on pneumonnia."

"Oh, my!"

"He's fine now. Recovering anyway. I nursed him as best I could but I had some good help." He took her by the arm and put an arm around Mike Together they walked into the house which smelled of fried chicken.

At the sound of the door opening, and their footsteps, Tommy came around the corner from the kitchen. Seeing Daisy and Mike his face lit up with a big grin.

"Hi Mrs. Cooper! Welcome home. Hi Sprout!" Tommy greeted them. He, and his friend Dan, had tagged Mike with Sprout last summer and that was how they always greeted him. They left "Tiger" for his guardians since they were the ones who had given him that nickname.

"Daisy, meet Jess' nurse. I couldn't have done it without him." Slim smiled at the teenager.

"You did just as much - and more," the youth told him. "I just helped."

"You were a lifesaver and I'm not gonna forget it," the rancher told him.

Tommy shrugged it off. He was embarassed by the praise. As far as he was concerned he only did what he had to and knew how to do. Slim had done most of the fussiing until they'd resorted to the onion poultices.

"Dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes. Ben went out to take care of the team," Tommy told them. "That will give Mrs. Cooper and Mike a chance to clean up and you, Mr. Sherman, can have the 'honor' of waking Mr. Harper up. Or is it a chore?" He griinned at Slim because they both knew how difficult it was to get Jess out of bed. On the trail he'd be awake in a heartbeat but at home - well that was another matter altogether.

The front door opened as they spoke and Ben brought the travelers' bags in.

"Thanks Ben," Slim said as the older man dropped them by the door and went back out to take care of the team. A moment later the buckboard could be heard headed to the barn where it would be parked and the horses unhitched and given a quick brushing down along with some hay and water.

"Why don't you put your things away and clean up, Daisy? Mike can put his things away too. By the time you're done supper should be ready," Slim said. "I'll go get Jess up. We'll tell you everything that happened, while you were gone, after we eat."

So saying he went to the bedroom that he and Jess shared and started working on waking his recovering partner up.

"Jess. Time to wake up. Supper's about ready."

Jess' only response was to moan and roll over onto his side.

Slim shook his head. It was like this every morning. Since he'd started his recovery from that bad case of bronchitis he'd resisted all suggestions of naps but every afternoon, he dozed off on the couch, in his chair or in his bed. If he was in his bunk he was hard to wake up.

"Jess. Wake up! Daisy and Mike are home and hungry and Tommy says supper is about ready. You know Daisy won't let us eat until everybody's at the table. Now get up!"

No response.

"All right pard. You asked for it."

Slim walked over to the washstand and picked up the pitcher of water. Then he went back to Jess' bedside. He put his right hand in and got it went then shook the water onto Jess' face. That didn't work the first two times. After the second failure Slim got a gleam in his eye that would have warned anyone who was looking at him. He took the pitcher and dumped the entire contests over his partner's head. Jess sprang up yelling at the top of his lungs.

"What'd you do that for?"

"I called you several times. Supper is about ready. Daisy and Mike are home, hungry and waiting for us all to get to the table."

"Supper. More chicken soup I suppose," the dark haired one complained.

"Maybe. You should be glad it's Tommy doing the cooking and not me. You hate my cooking more than I do."

"Thaat's true," Jess said with a grin. "He definitely cooks better than _you."_

"That'll be enough of that! Get up, washed up and at the table!" Slim grinned. Jess' humor - such as it was - hadn't been impaired.

He looked his partner over as Jess obeyed orders. He was too thin - two weeks of illness had taken its toll - but his color was improving. Once Doc Collyer gave the word they'd see how his appetite was. If he ate everything in sight and was still hungry they'd know for sure he was on the road to recovery.

Daisy eyed Jess as he entered the room. Never a big man it was obvious that his two bouts with illness had taken their toll. To her searching eyes he looked about twenty pounds lighter than he should be and his color was off. But his eyes were bright and his smile, when he saw her and Mike at the table waiting for him, was one of his most brilliant. It was like the sun coming out from behind the dark clouds after a storm.

"Daisy! Welcome home!" He kissed her cheek as he took his seat to her right. Mike sat to her left. The two empty chairs were for Tommy and Ben who were putting platters and bowls of chicken, potatoes and corn on the cob on the table. There was a basket full of fresh biscuits as well.

Jess' eyes lit up when he saw the platters and bowls placed on the table. His face fell when a bowl of chicken soup was placed in front of him.

"How'm I supposed to get my strength back if all you ever give me is soup?" he complained. "I'm gonna waste away to nothing!"

"Doc Collyer's orders," Slim reminded him. "Nothing heavier than soup or broth until he says otherwise."

Jess' face was like a thundercloud, dark and forbidding as he watched everyone else feast on fried chicken and all the fixings. A warning look from Slim quelled his desire to complain further. That and the glance over at Mike. The recovering patient took the hint. It would be setting a bad example to keep complaining in front of Mike.

"Tommy! This chicken is excellent!"

"I'm glad you like it Mrs. Cooper but, starting tomorrow, you can take over the nursing and the cooking and I'll get ready to go home. My brothers are probably thinking they're stuck with my chores forever at this point."

And so it was. Bright and early the next morning, after breakfast, Tommy packed his saddlebags, saddled his horse which had been delivered by the ranch hand who had picked up the buckboard and team, and rode out of the yard with Slim's thanks in his ears and Daisy's breakfast in his stomach. He had adamantly refused to take any pay saying 'My pa would kill me for taking your money. He sent me as a favor to a neighbor who needed help. All I need is to know that Mr. Harper is finally well again."

His family was happy to have him back and to hear that Jess was well on the road to recovery. With Daisy Cooper in charge again that was no doubt he would soon be back to his old self.

"Mike, help me set the table please. You know we're having company for dinner." Daisy recruited the youngster to give her a hand.

"I know. Tommy and his parents are coming," the boy said. "I can't wait!"

"You like Tommy a lot, don't you dear?"

"Yeah. He and his friend Dan don't treat me like I'm some dumb little kid who doesn't know anything."

The two of them worked together to put a nice tabelcloth over the table in the main room. Then the dishes and silverware followed by napkins. Mike put the salt and pepper on the table and the dish with the butter that Daisy had gotten out of the ice house.

Promptly at 5PM the three members of the Everett family arrived. Mort Cory was right behind them having been invited as well. Tommy and his father were dressed neatly, but not in their best suits, and wore ties much to their chagrin. Cynthia had insisted on it. Tommy looked like he was choking. If you asked him the tie was strangling him. Kyle looked slightly more comfortable. Mort was the most comfortable. His job didn't require a tie, obviously, unless it was for an occasional court appearance. Tommy regarded him enviously.

"Come in and have a seat at the table," Daisy told their visitors. "Dinner will be served in five minutes with a little help from Mike."

The guests did as they were instructed. Mike had made place cards for everyone indicating where they should sit. He made sure that he was seated between Jess and Tommy. Normally he'd be seated to Daisy's left but he wasn't going to miss out on sitting between two of his best friends. That put Mort in Mike's usual seat with the Everetts next to him and Slim at the head of the table. They had to add the small table, that usually sat near Slim's desk, to make enough room for people and food.

Cynthia Everett was dressed in green and brown plaid. Her husband wore black trousers, white shirt and black string tie along with a black jacket. Tommy wore brown pants with a yellow shirt and black tie. Mort was wearing his usual denims, white shirt and brown vest. All the men hung their hats on the hat rack by the door as they entered.

Daisy had her bright blue and white dress on while her boys all wore good pants, shite shirts and string ties. All the men except Mike. Due to his young age he was exempt from the wearing of a tie.

Dinner was pork roast with fresh beets, corn, potatoes and rolls hot out of the oven. Apple cobbler with whipped cream was served for dessert. There was little conversation about anything but ranch matters and what was happening in town until dinner was over. Everyone seated themselves in the main room with extra chairs having been brought down from the attic and cleaned up to supplement the few chairs and sofa that was usually there.

"Kyle, I can't thank you enough for sending Tommy to help out while Jess was laid up."

"I only did what any good neighbor would do, Slim," Kyle responded, "and it was Tommy's idea in the first place. I just okayed it."

"Well I can tell you he was a lifesaver - literally. I wouldn't have known what to do the night we could have lost Jess. I'd never made an onion poultice and never paid attention when Ma, Jonesy or Daisy made them. He could have suffocated."

"I owe him my life, Kyle," Jess said as the teenager blushed. As far as Tommy was concerned Slim had borne the bulk of the burden of caring for Jess. He'd only helped.

"You don't owe me anything," the youth said. "I was glad to help. And you'll be glad to know you won't get stuck in the chicken coop again. Ben and I made a new door and put a hook and eye on it for a lock. No more block of wood that won't stay put."

Anyone looking at Mike's face when he heard that would have seen it coming. He'd heard the story about Jess' bad day which had culminated in his being trapped in the hen house. The youngster had been thinking about it for over a week.

"Slim?"

"Yeah Mike?" 

"Does Jess have a nickname? You know like how you call me Tiger sometimes?"

"Not that I know of. Why?

"'Cause I just thought of one."

Jess looked somewhat apprehensive while the others looked at him expectantly.

"What's that Tiger?"

"From now on we should call him 'Coop' on account of his being locked in the hen house that day."

"Why you little..." Jess started to reach for Mike but the little boy was too fast for him. He quickly jumped out of his seat to stand behind Slim and Kyle where Jess couldn't get at him. The men and Tommy threw their heads back and roared while the women laughed merrily.


End file.
